I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Today’s passage lists out the descendants of the remaining sons of Jacob, completing the listing of the tribes of Israel. Interestingly, we have two lists of the descendants of Benjamin. The first list, says gives three sons for Benjamin. The second list gives five. The first list implies that there might be more than three sons for Benjamin. The second list has ambiguous wording in the original Hebrew that makes determining the relationship (father-son, ancestor-descendant) between people listed hard to determine. My suspicion is that the author of this book had more than one source for these lineages and was not himself quite sure of the meanings of some of the relationships listed in those sources. The passage ends with a genealogy of King Saul’s family including his descendants by Jonathan’s son, Merib-baal.

     This passage begins by telling us that Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman centurion to be taken to Rome. Luke, and possibly others, sailed with them. Luke gives a detailed account of their ports of call. We are told that in Lycia, a province of what is now Turkey, they changed ships. After this change of ships, they faced difficult weather which resulted in them traveling slower than usual for such a journey. When they reached the town of Fair Havens, the season at which it was no longer safe to sail was upon them. Paul told the crew that if they went on they would face shipwreck, loss of cargo and danger to life. However, the captain and crew did not want to winter in Fair Havens as it was a poor port to winter in since its harbor was exposed to the weather. They chose to try to make it to the harbor at Phoenix, which was a well-sheltered harbor.
     As soon as they got a good wind from the right direction, they set out, with the intention of staying close to the shore. Unfortunately, as soon as they were out of the harbor the weather changed and a strong wind blew them out to sea. The crew did everything they could to save the ship, but they were forced to throw the ship’s cargo overboard as well as some of the ship’s gear. Thus Paul’s warning is proven true. The storm continues to batter the ship for many days until everyone has given up hope.

     The psalmist here proclaims that he will trust God to be his judge, that if he is guilty of evil, he will accept God’s judgement against him. But, he also says that he trusts that God will protect him and save him from those who seek to harm him because he has served God. The psalmist tells us that God will go to war against those who do not repent of their sins. Finally, the psalmist warns that wicked plans will backfire on those who make them. He concludes by saying that he will thank and praise God because He is just.

     How true this proverb is. My wife is a wonderful treasure and the Lord has shown great favor to me by bringing her into my life. My life has been so enriched since I married her and my walk with God improved.